Legacy of Darkness
by TheUnknownMarine
Summary: (AU, but only a little.) Six years after Shining Force One, new ruins are unearthed near Manarina. Ruins that bear a terrible secret...
1. Chapter One: Flashbacks

The Creation War: Legacy of Eternal Darkness.  
By TheUnknownMarine  
  
  
Author's note: This fic is AU (alternate universe) since I can't really use the plot I have   
planned and still follow the events in Final Conflict. 'Course one could make the   
argument that ALL fan-fics are AU since none of them are canon.  
  
It all began with the creation of the Core Worlds, the very beginning of   
existence. One was made a wellspring of magic, a world with unimaginable mystical   
energies flowing through it. One was made a center of technology, where wonders of   
silicon and steel were forged. Finally, nine worlds were made with both the potential for   
magic and technology, and given over to mortals to eventually shape themselves. From   
these First-Born universes splintered off all of Creation, as the creative energies locked in   
each world by the mysterious Creator replenished and sprang forth to create new worlds   
again and again and again, in a chain reaction that still is happening to this day. The   
worlds of Creation then existed for ages untold, each unaware of each other's existence.   
But things were not as well as they seemed. For in one of these new worlds the Darkness   
held sway, and it looked and as it pierced the filmy Ether that surrounded it's home, it   
saw the other worlds, full of life and light, and it wanted them for itself. In the world   
known as Daris-Kerr, an entire universe of roiling night and lightless gloom, at it's very   
core, the Darkness constructed a suit of armor. This armor would be the form it would   
wear so it could come into physical being, the Black Shell. The Darkness reached out into   
all of Creation and concentrated all the hate, all the fear, all the evil it could find into this   
suit of armor, and made it unimaginably powerful. Then the Darkness entered and   
became one with it. The Darkness called forth into the endless night of Daris-Kerr and   
gathered unto itself every demon, devil, and dark one imaginable. Then, in an invasion so   
vast it boggled the mind, it attacked. One by one, the unsuspecting worlds of Creation fell   
before the might of the Darkness' armies and it's Black Shell. As more worlds were   
conquered and corrupted, the Darkness' power swelled, and it's legions of evil beings   
grew. As it grew like a foul cancer across Creation, the Darkness laughed.  
  
But defeat was not yet at hand for the forces of Light.  
  
A desperate alliance of beings from all worlds, a final hope against evil, gathered,   
and with their technological and magical might, they dared confront the Army of Evil and   
the very Darkness itself. Elven mages, human gunners, dwarven axe-men, all of Light   
banded together for a final stand against the encroaching night. In the mist shrouded   
fields of the Ether Plane, the border between all worlds, the Armies of Light and Evil   
clashed. The Darkness itself entered the battle, encased in the Black Shell. Entire legions   
of troops were laid to waste by the awesome form the Darkness had chosen for itself.   
Black lightning crackled from it's gauntlets, darkness more lightless than any black hole   
composed it's joints, pure fear formed the breastplate, and utter oblivion was in it's   
scabbard. With a mere gesture, the Darkness annihilated rank after rank of soldiers. Then,   
when the thought of victory seemed a mere memory, Iaiden, the head of the revered   
Grand Templars steeled his will, drew his sword, and attacked. Thrusting any thoughts of   
survival for himself aside, the Templar-King slashed again and again at the Darkness'   
Black Shell. As he fought, his brave act restored hope to the Army of Light, and   
unconsciously Iaiden reached forth and channeled all of the Army of Light's hope,   
courage, and goodness into one last blow. With a tremendous cry, Iaiden plunged his   
blade, now glowing with the energies of Light, into the Black Shell, to pierce the   
Darkness below. In a blinding flash of energy, both Templar and Darkness were gone,   
leaving the empty Black Shell, and Iaiden's blade behind. The Darkness of Daris-Kerr,   
the Enslaver, the Enemy of all Creation, was slain.  
  
The duty to dispose of the Black Shell passed to the Circle of Twelve, the leaders   
of the armies from the Core Worlds. Knowing that Darkness could never truly be   
destroyed, they instead disintegrated the armor, and scattered the power of Darkness to   
each world of Creation. Thus, in each world, the forces of Light struggle to keep the   
forces of Darkness in it from ever holding sway, for the fear that one day, the Darkness   
would coalesce back into it's first self, and the titanic battle would have to be re-fought.   
And if it were to happen again, perhaps we would not be victorious once more. Thus our   
sacred duty is to forever insure that each force of evil, each splinter of Darkness, be kept   
forever in each of it's prisons. An eternal struggle against the Black Tide of Daris-Kerr.  
  
-Translation of the Diamond Tablet, recovered from the newly unearthed   
Thanas ruins, near Manarina, discovered 6 ASW (After the Shining War.)  
  
  
Chapter One: Flashbacks.  
(Six years after Shining Force One.)  
Max swung the scythe against the fields of wheat as the hot sun sent trickles of   
sweat down his back. Max stood up for a moment as a light breeze blew across the long   
fields of amber grain, and surveyed his handiwork. It was hard work being a farmer, but it   
was rewarding to see the crops grow from little green shoots to long and full stalks of   
wheat, ready to fill the bellies of the hungry townspeople. Max sighed and sat down on a   
log for a moment to rest. Rest…. Yes that was why he had settled here in the first place…  
  
"I can't break free!!! But you won't die with me!!!"  
  
Max had cast the Egress spell expecting to remain behind. He could feel Dark   
Dragon's evil touch interfering with the magics involved as Max formed them into the   
necessary shape for the spell to take place.  
  
"I can't break free, either, but you WILL die with me…" Dark Dragon said and   
laughed as Max struggled to concentrate hard enough to complete the spell in time. The   
fabled Castle of the Ancients was beginning to rumble, and Max knew that time was   
short.  
  
"It will never work, you see. Even at the threshold of death, I am still more   
powerful than your weak magics… What? What is this? That presence… NO!!!!!" Dark   
Dragon had begun to gloat over his imminent victory, but was cut off as Max felt   
something complete the spell FOR him. A flash of light and all was black. The next thing   
Max knew, he was waking to the sound of waves gently lapping at the beach. Opening his   
eyes, he saw that he and Adam, the Ancient robot had been transported to a long sandy   
white beach.  
  
Not knowing what had happened, Max and Adam had traveled far and wide in   
secret, not knowing if they had truly succeeded or not, and not knowing what had become   
of their comrades. Eventually they had found out from a traveling merchant that   
Runefaust and Dark Dragon had indeed been finished, and that Anri had become queen of   
Guardiana. Miraculously, not a single member of the Shining Force was killed during the   
escape. But for those long days of not knowing, Max had tormented himself, thinking   
things such as, "The spell was cast, but where did everyone else end up? Did they make it   
out? Or had they been teleported into the heart of a mountain thanks to a faulty spell? Is   
everyone OK..?"   
In those days not a minute had gone by when Max hadn't thought of what   
might've become of his battle-mates, and best friends. Ken, Lowe, Tao, Hans, Mae, Zylo,   
Luke, Anri…  
i"Anri…"/i Max thought, as a picture of her gentle face entered his mind, then   
quickly shook his head. Anri and the rest of Guardiana were better off without him now.   
All he knew was fighting and now that the fighting was over, there wasn't anything left   
for him to do in the large city. He'd probably be awarded a token rank and commission   
and then kept out of harm's way, a trophy hero to keep morale up. Not to mention if he   
returned he'd never have a moment's rest from on-lookers. His entire life would always   
be in the spot-light. He just wanted to rest a bit… Perhaps some day in the future he'd   
make a secret visit to Guardiana to visit his friends, but for now, the wheat needed   
threshing, and Adam looked as if he'd finished clearing the new field of the large   
boulders that had obstructed harvesting. (A job he was very good at thanks to his   
cybernetic strength.) He had found peace at last, at least for a little while, in helping the   
small village of Alino bring in enough crops to sustain the simple folk living there. If he   
wasn't happy, he was at least content.  
  
"The royal treasury reports a deficit of twelve thousand gold pieces, M' Lady.   
Now, if we where to divert funds from…" The chief tax collector droned on and on, and   
frankly, Anri of Guardiana was bored stiff. She was passionate about helping her subjects   
and ensuring their welfare, but these endless reports on treasury status, taxes, and the   
petty squabbling of the bureaucracy left her cold. She knew they were a necessary evil   
though, to keep her country running. In the wake of the Shining War as it was now called,   
Guardiana had expanded it's borders to protect border towns and independent villages   
that had requested protection from the roving bandits that were the remnants of Darksol's   
once great army. Now Guardiana stretched from Manarina to the Ancient Gateway, where   
all the trouble had first started. Almost all of the eastern continent had joined with   
Guardiana save Alterone and Pao, which preferred their independence.  
  
"…and that concludes the financial reports for the day, my Queen," the chief tax   
collector finished. Anri lifted her head, in interest. Now was the part she liked. The part   
that she believed made the most difference.  
"It is now time for the petitions!" announced the herald as the door guards began   
admitting people who had come for their Queen's aid. From there, the day passed quickly   
as Queen Anri gave orders after listening to her subject's requests.  
"Queen Anri, my town has been hit by raiders thrice in the last week! Please send   
us some help!"  
"I will send Sub-Commander Pelle with a detachment of troops to halt the raider's   
attacks."  
"Queen, please, the merchant lord Karatis has a strangle-hold on our village! He   
rigs his loans so that no one can ever pay them, he's raised prices on everything and he's   
run all the other merchants out of town with threats! We have no recourse but to buy his   
goods, but they're so high priced we must take out loans from him, and then he owns our   
very lives!"  
"I will send Judge Garris there to investigate at once! If found guilty, Karatis will   
be brought before me to plead his case."  
"Good Queen, I bear a trade agreement from the far off realm of Aris-Tir. Will   
you sign?"  
"This trading pact looks to be fair. Very well, I will sign, and may this be the start   
of friendship between our two countries."  
"Sire, our village is going to starve this winter! All our food was destroyed in a   
fire that burned down all the granaries…"  
"I will purchase some food with treasury money and send it to your village, and in   
return you must pay me back three quarters of the sum within five year's time."  
"O great Mage-Queen, a situation has arisen in Manarina that requires your   
personal attention!"  
  
Anri was a bit startled at the last request, asked by a young man in plain brown   
scholar's robes. It had been a while since she had last visited the famous school of magic   
she'd once been in charge of.   
"What is the matter? The city's mages should be well equipped to handle any   
raider threat…" Anri started, but was cut off by the scholar.  
"Nay, my Queen. You yourself are needed, not your armies. You see, you are one   
of the few beings to have ever had such extensive contact with places and devices of the   
Ancients, such things as the robot Adam, the Castle of the Ancients, the Shining Path,   
that and your extensive knowledge on magic would make you a valuable addition to the   
team…" the scholar went on. Queen Anri shook her head.  
"What do you mean? What team?" Queen Anri asked. The scholar hit himself on   
the forehead.  
"My apologies, my Queen, I tend to get ahead of myself. I am Quentin Saradis,   
envoy of the Manarina Archaelogical Committee. We have recently discovered some new   
ruins near the mage school, and we don't know what to make of it. With your experience,   
we had hoped to convince you to aid us in our excavations, and find out…" the scholar   
was cut off by Anri, this time.  
"I will consider it…" Anri said, curiously.  
"I should mention the ruins are almost completely intact…" Quentin said as he   
turned to leave.  
i"INTACT ruins?"/i Anri thought, surprised. i"No one has ever found an intact   
Ancient site, even the fabled Castle of the Ancients had suffered from the ravages of time.   
An intact site might hold wonders beyond my wildest imaginations… And it would feel so   
GOOD to get out of the castle for a little bit…"/i  
"Yes," Anri said after a moment's thought. "Yes, I will go to Manarina. I should   
arrive in the next few days."  
  
  
  
  
"No way! Not a chance in the Abyss, sire," Mae, of the Shining Force, now one of   
Anri's chief advisors was saying as she stomped her hooves. Anri had summoned her top   
aides, who also happened to be her best friends, to her inner chambers for a private   
meeting. Nova, Lowe, Luke, Mae, Tao and Ken had all helped to rebuild Guardiana   
almost as much as Anri had. Others from the force did too, of course, but they had other   
thing to do than accept the cabinet posts offered them when the reconstruction was   
finished. Some had gone to far off homes and families, some went off in search of more   
adventure, and some, namely Gort, Torasu and Kokichi, wanted to enjoy a well-deserved   
retirement. But for these six, they felt their place was continuing to serve their kingdom   
as they always had. Of course, the pay didn't hurt either, as Tao had once put it. Around a   
wooden table they sat in seats made from intricate dwarven iron-work and padded with   
Roc down, a gift from Protectoria for freeing them from the yoke of Darksol. The setting   
sun cast a red glow upon the entire scene from a tall window set into the back wall. Anri   
sighed.   
  
"Mae, they are talking about an intact Ancient site! You know what those places   
have brought forth in the past. Always things of great power, be it for evil or good. If they   
have found an undisturbed Ancient ruin, it is imperative we discern whether it was merely   
a harmless Ancient inn, or an Ancient armory full of weapons that might fall into raider   
hands if left unguarded! Complacence on this could spell doom," Anri explained, leaving   
out that cabin fever was another primary reason for this expedition.  
"Perhaps, but going out on a treasure hunt, leaving your kingdom behind? Send   
Tao or myself, or Earnest! If you are correct about this place and what it has the potential   
to contain, then it's far too dangerous for you to go!" Mae said as she paced the room, tail   
agitatedly tossing behind her. "Your safety is paramount! The last thing Guardiana needs   
right now is a succession war, and don't tell me it would never happen! The Merchant   
Lords of the western provinces will take any excuse they can get to wield yet more power,   
and some of the nobility is no better!"  
"I am fully capable of defending myself. I AM a master wizardess, you know,"   
Anri said a bit irritated.  
"I believe Anri is correct on this matter," Nova coolly stated. "We cannot ignore   
another potential Ancient legacy such as Dark Dragon. It is of utmost importance we   
examine these ruins as closely as possible."   
"Well why can't Tao or a different mage go?" Lowe meekly suggested. Anri took   
a deep breath before speaking.  
"A different mage wouldn't have the experience of being in Ancient ruins before,   
and while Tao has been in them, she doesn't know as much about the Ancients as I do. I   
studied them in Manarina, and she studied the application of magic." Anri said as ran a   
hand through her long silver hair. Tao shrugged.  
"What can I say? I figured knowing more about how to toast a monster would   
come in handy more than knowing about the mysterious race that suddenly vanished ages   
ago," Tao said as she absentminded created a tiny flicker of flame in her hands and made   
it dance along her fingertips.  
"This is madness! We cannot send our sole monarch into a site of potential   
harm!" Mae said as she threw up her arms in dismay. Nova arched an eyebrow.  
"Of course not, Mae. You, Ken, Tao, Gort, and Gong will accompany her. I will   
see if I can get Diane and Zylo to meet you at Manarina from Bustoke," Nova said, as if   
the matter had been closed. Mae stomped her hooves again.  
"But who will govern the land in Anri's absence?" Mae asked.  
"Lowe will, advised by Nova," Anri suddenly said.  
"M…me?? But I'm just an advisor…" Lowe stammered as Anri reassured him.  
"Lowe, you are more than capable of handling things for a week or two. Despite   
your reluctance, you've shown to be adept at choosing wisely during the years I've had   
you as my advisor. Plus, if you need any help, Nova will advise you," Anri said calmly.  
"Then it's settled. We'll all head for Manarina first thing tommorrow. I'll go pack   
my gear," Luke said as he stood up form his chair to go gather his equipment.  
"Well I guess I should go buy us some supplies…" Ken said as he trotted away   
from the table.  
"I'll go prepare a list telling Lowe what to expect while is acts as regent," Nova   
said as he left for the study, leaving Tao, Mae, and Anri in the room.  
"Heh, I hope you are right, Mae. I've been experimenting with a few magics I   
can't wait to try out on some monsters!" Tao said as she left the room chuckling.  
  
The trip from Guardiana was long, but uneventful, save for when Tao set a tent on   
fire when she insisted on using her magic to help cook supper. Everyone, even Mae, was   
secretly glad to have an excuse to travel again, and not be cooped up in the same place.   
Out beyond the safe boredom of the castle, they took in the blue sky, tall mountains,   
emerald forest and fresh air with barely concealed delight. Despite it being technically a   
mission of high import, the confident Shining Force saw it as a vacation of sorts. The   
group traveled from Guardiana to Alterone, and from there to Rindo, where they stopped   
for a day to rest, and in Tao's case, to shop. Then after another day's worth of travel over   
the vast Legacy desert that separated Rindo from Manarina, they reached the fabled city   
of mages. A certain wolf-warrior and elven archer were waiting there for them.  
  
"Diane! Zylo! Good to see you two! It's been ages!" Ken said cheerfully as he   
galloped ahead to meet them. Warm greetings were exchanged between the old friends as   
they met again, and took a few minutes to catch up. After twenty minutes of chatter, the   
group temporarily split up to unpack their things at the mage school's guest quarters and   
meet at the Sated Sage, a new eatery operated by a rather corpulent mage by the name of   
Marmin.  
"Yes, I took the liberty of scouting around the proposed dig site." Diane said as   
she took a drink from her ale mug. "It's really quite ingenious the way the Ancients hid it.   
A huge illusion crafted to make the entrance seem like another side of the mountain. I   
understand the archaeologists stumbled on it by pure chance. One of them leaned on what   
he thought was a wall of rock, and whoosh!" Diane said as she slapped her hands together   
for emphasis. "The poor guy falls backward and hits his head on the tiled floor of the   
entry way. Gave him both a nasty bruise and an excellent story to tell," Diane finished   
with another pull of ale. Zylo growled a little, saying, "That illusion is too good. My   
senses have never been deceived, even by Ancient magic. There's something about that   
place… It makes my fur stand on end," Zylo whispered the last part, then shook his head   
and bit off a large chunk of the very rare steak he had ordered.  
"It's disconcerting that the place is enough to rattle the legendary Zylo," Mae said   
slowly, as if in deep thought. Diane grinned at this and reached over and ruffled Zylo's   
ears as one would a dog.  
"Naw, he's just a widdle scaredy cat, yes you are!" Diane teasingly said. Zylo   
merely growled and bared his teeth, causing Diane to quickly draw back her arm.  
"Still the same old Diane, I see," Tao said with an impish grin as she played with   
a magical flame she had in the palm of her hand. Tao absentmindedly reached for her fork   
and set fire to the table cloth, which was promptly put out by a minor ice spell quickly   
cast by Anri.  
"Still the same old Tao, I see," Diane said sweetly as she ducked to avoid a flung   
fork.  
"Kids these days…" Gort grumbled as he downed yet another mug of ale. 


	2. The Ruins of Thanas

Chapter Two- The Ruins of Thanas  
  
  
The next day, the group arrived at the ruins, accompanied by the members of the   
archaeological team. The sun was just beginning to rise above the sleepy horizon as   
Tareth, the head archaeologist showed the Force where the entrance lay hidden.  
"You can barely see it, but the entrance area is marked by an old rune, thanas, that   
means 'Powerful Secret'. Since that was the only written thing we've discovered on the   
entry-way, we've taken to calling this place the Thanas Ruins."  
"The Thanas Ruins…hmmm…" the usually laconic Gong muttered to himself.  
"It's right about… here," Tareth said as he put a hand through what had appeared   
to be solid rock before. The spot where his hand went through rippled like water, and   
Tareth stepped all the way through. Anri nodded and did likewise, as did the rest of the   
Force.  
The scene on the inside of the illusion was very different than the bare cliff-side it   
had projected. A huge indentation had been carved into the mountain-side, hewn from the   
bare rock with incredible precision. The walls of the ruins appeared to the naked eye to be   
perfectly smooth, and two curved pillars stood over a door inset in the wall like mammoth   
tusks. The door itself was crafted from two impossible massive plates of a dark green   
metal, presumable some form of the rare metal mithril. A bas-relief of an imposing   
armored knight holding out his hand in a gesture to stop decorated the door.  
"Part of the reason we insisted upon your presence, Queen Anri, was that we   
couldn't get the doors to budge an inch, and we were hoping you could… ah… blast them   
out of the way…" Tareth said hesitatingly, as if s bit unwilling to sully the perfect   
gleaming metal of the doors.  
"Odd," Anri muttered to herself as she examined the entry-way. "There is no sign   
of the Open Eye, the most common symbol of the Ancients. And this architecture is   
completely different than what I've seen before… It's almost like a different civilization   
made these ruins…"  
Tao closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them a minute later. "I'm   
getting a feeling of unimaginable age from this place… These ruins were made when the   
world was very young."  
Anri closed her eyes for a minute as well, and reached out her arcane senses.   
"Yes… I… I feel dwarfed by this place… Wait… I feel…" Anri shuddered as the image   
of an impossibly black roiling cloud of darkness filled her mind's eye. Two even blacker   
spots seemed to be it's eyes. A sound like eerie whistling wind engulfed her. Anri felt a   
sense of terrible awe at this awful presence. Suddenly she was brought to by Diane's   
snapping fingers.  
"Rune to Anri! Rune to Anri! Snap out of it!" Diane said as Anri came out of her   
mystic trance. "What was that? You just spaced out for a second."  
"I felt… I saw… Nothing… Never mind, let's see how to best open these doors,"   
Anri said as she went to examine the sealed doors. Tao gave the doors an appraising look.  
"I'd say a dual telekinetic spell by the two of us should provide sufficient force to   
rip these babies open, Anri. What do you think?" Tao asked.  
"Yes that sounds like a excellent plan. Good work, Tao," Anri replied as she   
walked to where Tao was standing.  
"Hey, I'm more than just a pretty face, gorgeous body and…" Tao's reply was   
interrupted by Ken's chuckling. Tao shot him a look almost as fiery as the magics the   
young elf could summon forth. Ken shut his mouth, still grinning.  
"Enough bickering, let's just get these doors open," Anri said as she smiled in   
spite of herself. Tao stuck her tongue out at Ken, then stood beside Anri as they began to   
cast the spell that would hopefully open the doors. Weaving their hands in intricate   
patterns, they molded the swirling arcane energy into the shape necessary to pull the   
massive mithril doors apart. A final word of power from the two wizardesses, and the   
doors started to groan, and slowly move apart. Tao and Anri concentrated harder, sweat   
beads forming on their foreheads, and the doors finally slide into twin slots in the walls,   
leaving the path to the ruins' inner core open. Tareth grinned like a madman and   
whispered, "It's open… An intact Ancient site! I'll be famous…"  
"Well, what are standing around for? Onward!" Ken said as he hefted his Atlas   
axe and moved towards the entrance, followed by everyone else.  
  
The room beyond the doors was a sight almost too fantastical to describe. An   
impossibly high ceiling rose up beyond eyesight, and an equally deep chasm reached far   
into the earth. Spanning this pit was a walkway of stone, and two semi-circular platforms   
on either side of the chasm. Two pillars topped with huge white crystals, crackling with   
pure energy, rose up from the pit on either side of the stone bridge. As awesome as this   
sight was, it was not what caused the multitude of widened eyes and dropped jaws among   
the group. Crawling, glowing runes covered every inch of the massive stone walls in what   
must be a spell of immense power. As if all that weren't enough, a huge triangular   
diamond, tall as two grown men, stood a few feet in front of the bridge. Carved runes   
were inlaid into it, and seemed to cover the diamond entirely.  
"By all the powers of the heavens, look at the size of that diamond!" Ken shouted   
as he trotted over to examine the gigantic gem. The sound of his and Mae's hooves   
echoed loudly in the vast chamber. Tao shivered with pleasure as she felt the raw magic   
of the place flow through the room like a powerful river.  
"I feel as if pure magic is being pumped through my veins… This place contains   
an almost primordial power… I feel energized just by standing here!" Anri exclaimed as   
she too felt the arcane energies surrounding the room.  
"What kind of spell could possibly require this much power…" Tao whispered as   
she glanced at the two crackling crystals of the pillars.  
"I don't like this one bit. All my senses are telling me to get out of here," Mae   
said, a hint of urgency breaking through her usually calm exterior. Zylo also spoke up,   
saying, "I don't like the smell of this either. We should leave soon." Tareth seemed   
horrified at the prospect of leaving.  
"We can't leave now! We can't stop now!! Think of all the knowledge to be   
found here!!!" Tareth said desperately. Ken called from the diamond tablet.  
"Hey what's all this writing mean?" he asked as he lightly kicked the tablet with a   
fore-hoof.   
"Don't touch that, we don't know what it may be enchanted with. As for the   
runes, let me see…" Anri said as she looked closely at all the writing on the tablet. "There   
appears to be writing here in seventeen different languages! I can't read the rest, but this   
last passage is in Old Runic, the language of the Ancients."  
"What's it say? Diane curiously inquired.  
"It appears to be a story of how the world was formed… No, how all creation,   
more worlds than this were made! It says that a terrible entity known as the Darkness   
tried to conquer all of existence, and was narrowly pushed back by an alliance of all   
Light. Everything that was good joined to fight against all that was evil in a titanic   
struggle. It goes on to say the Darkness' physical form was shattered by a great hero   
named Iaiden, and scattered by a group called the Council of Twelve. It ends by saying   
that it is the duty of everyone to insure that the splinters of Darkness never be released   
back into the worlds. I… I don't think the makers of these ruins were Ancients, Tareth,"   
Anri finished in a hushed voice.  
"Why do you say that?" Tareth inquired as he studied the tablet and began writing   
in a dusty book he had brought out of his pack.  
"The architecture, the fact that no symbols of the Ancients appear here, the fact   
that their language is among many on this tablet… I don't know who made this place, but   
it wasn't our ancestors," Anri said as she looked around the enormous chamber.  
"Even better! The discovery of a completely new civilization! This is what I and   
my colleagues dreamed about!" Tareth said as he strode towards the stone bridge.  
"We should turn back now," Mae said as she stomped her hooves nervously. "We   
don't have a clue as to what we're dealing with save that it's very powerful."  
"Bah! So was Dark Dragon! We can take whatever this place throws at us." Ken   
boasted as he started to cross the stone bridge. Anri closed her eyes for a minute and   
muttered a few spell-words.  
"I can't detect any sort of sealing spell. Whatever lies within these ruins it's not   
constrained by anything," she said after opening her eyes again.  
"When then, there you have it! If something's here, it's unsealed and possibly a   
danger! If there's nothing here, then what's the harm?" Diane said cheerfully as she   
crossed the bridge along with Gong, who had been wordlessly moving towards the other   
side.  
"I still don't like it…" Mae said as she, and then everyone else, crossed the bridge   
to the other side of the chasm. A huge door, twenty feet tall and ten wide stood   
imposingly at the end of a raised dais. Tareth was in the lead now, and he opened the   
doors without so much as a thought.  
"Amazing! These doors should weigh a ton, but they're as light as a feather!"   
Tareth said in wonder as he passed into the next room.  
"I wonder what other wonders this place has in store for us…" Tao said, tossing   
her ponytail.  
"Or horrors…" Zylo growled under his breath.  
  
The next room was a long hall, with statues lining the walls. The statues were of   
great mages, warriors, priests, all unknown to even Tareth and Anri, and bearing   
inscriptions in a strange tongue. The last statue at the end of the hall showed an armored   
man carrying a large sword in one hand, and a holding the other hand forth in what Anri   
recognized as a magic gesture. The statue's features projected a feeling of gentleness, yet   
an underlying strength that surpassed steel. Unlike the other inscriptions, the one on this   
statue glowed and writhed around, until it formed a message in Runic, the language   
currently used by the inhabitants of Rune.  
  
i"Iaiden. High King of the Grand Templars, and savior of Creation. Those that   
would be allowed to pass know the way."/i  
  
"This must be a test to weed out those not allowed to be in this area. There must   
be a secret door somewhere…" Tareth said as he got on his hands and knees and began to   
look around the statue. Anri furrowed her brow in thought.  
"Wait… Maybe it's a riddle of some sort?" Tao wondered aloud. Anri's eyes   
suddenly brightened and she spoke excitedly.  
"That gesture… It's the beginning of an apprentice's spell, one to make a small   
ball of light! I bet…" Anri trailed off as she began to cast the spell. A small ball of golden   
light appeared between her hands, and floated above the statue's head. Suddenly, with a   
great grinding sound, the statue moved away, revealing a small hallway beyond. The   
group silently moved single file through the narrow passage way. At the hall's end, a   
small square room stood, the walls inlaid with crawling, glowing runes as the first   
chamber had. At the center of the room stood an altar of bare stone. A most peculiar   
artifact, a single link of black chain lay in the middle of said altar.   
"What's this?" Anri said as she reached out to touch it. As she did so, the terrible   
blackness once again engulfed her mind. A dark voice seemed to whisper to her in a   
language she didn't understand.  
i"…Ashgul akul-ya garrak terronis ecoi ashuda…"/i  
i"…I could bring order to all, destroying all that oppose me and. I could break   
those fools that dare disobey , making them bow and beg for mercy…"/i  
i"…Ferro kin thanas alkul…"/i  
i"People would kneel before my righteousness. Dissenters would be struck down   
for the wretched tools of evil that they are…"/i  
i"…Darris-Kerr, ragnarok ashgul alkulya garrak terronis…"/i  
i"Wait…Evil…?"/i  
Anri shook her head and released the link of chain, which dropped back to the   
floor with an oddly loud clank.  
  
Unknown to the Force, as soon as the link hit the floor, all the crawling runes in   
the chasm chamber flared and went still. The crystals imploded upon themselves, their   
pillars collapsing into the unimaginable depths of the pit, and a single invisible blast of   
magical energy threw itself from the ruins into the heavens.  
  
i"Where had those thoughts come from?"/i Anri thought as she cleared her mind of   
the awful visions that had clouded her thinking. She was shivering.  
"You okay Anri? You spaced out again…" a concerned Ken voiced as he stepped   
forward. Anri waved him back with a hand.  
"I'm fine. This link… I don't know what it is, but I felt tremendous power   
residing within it… It should be brought back to Guardiana immediately for study under   
heavy guard!" Anri said, concerned and a bit disturbed by what she had just felt.  
"NO!" Tareth shouted desperately. "It's mine! I found this site!! I have the right to   
study it!!! Give it to me!!!" Tareth lunged for the link on the floor, but was stopped when   
the equine form of Mae interposed itself between him and the odd item.  
"If Queen Anri deems that this object is too dangerous to leave it for public study,   
then it's too dangerous to leave for public study," Mae said as she pushed the   
archaeologist back. Tareth fumed with anger, but did nothing more. Anri tentatively   
touched the link again, but felt no presence like before. She hastily picked up the link and   
dropped it in her rune-covered enchanted pouch for carrying dangerous spell components   
and potions and the like. She looked down at the pouch, then shivered. Raising her head   
to the rest of the group, she proclaimed, "We leave for Guardiana, tonight."  
  
The Drunken Dryad tavern was Max's favorite place to relax after a hard day's   
labor in the fields. He'd silently drink a mug of ale and amusedly watch the other tavern   
denizens bluster around after having one too many to drink. Adam would stand beside   
him as he did so, his loyalty unwavering and undeniable. The robot often followed Max   
around like a dog follows it's master. Adam's. Still, it was rather bothersome when one   
was trying to stay out of sight, a seven foot tall war-robot was hardly ubiquitous. Tonight   
the tavern was filled with farmers celebrating the fact that the new harvest was over, and   
good, thanks in part to the new helper and his mechanical companion. A few travelers   
were also in the tavern, swapping tales and downing mug after mug of ale. Max took a sip   
of his ale, and felt the cool drink run down his throat and wash away the taste of dust and   
dirt that had filled it from the day's work. The door opened, revealing the night sky   
beyond, and two strangers filed in, strangers, in both the literal and figurative sense. One   
among them wore a travel worn cloak that covered his entire body, although Max's   
warrior senses alerted him to the clink of heavy armor beneath it. The other wore a robe   
with the hood drawn over his head, so that no one could see his face. They walked to a   
table near Max's and sat, ordering a two mugs of ale. Max silently promised himself to   
keep an eye on those two. Adam shifted loudly behind him, as he turned his optic sensors   
to focus on the new-comers. The same thought had occurred to him too, apparently.  
  
At the same time, Anri and the Force, minus Tareth, who had decided to stay at   
the ruins, were making their way back to Guardiana. Diane and Zylo had opted to stay   
with the group in order to see their old friends back in Guardiana. Despite everyone's   
protests, Anri insisted they skip resting at Manarina, and instead press on as far as they   
could before breaking camp for the night. Tao lit a huge bonfire from logs cut by Gort's   
mighty Atlas axe. Ken was using his Valkyrie to roast a delicacy he had bought while in   
Manarina, something called a marshmallow, on the fire. Mae was chatting with Diane   
about various trivial things. It seemed as if the dark depression that had settled over her   
after Max's death had finally lifted. Anri recalled the dark days of gloom that had settled   
over herself, Lowe and Mae directly following Max's death. Lowe had suffered because   
Max was his best friend, one he had known since childhood. Mae has suffered because   
she had long considered Max somewhat of a brother, and a close friend. Anri had suffered   
because she… She… Anri shook her head. The past was painful, and once again, she   
buried it deep within her heart. Best to let it lie. Anri turned her thoughts form the past to   
the present. This new artifact… what could it be? A link of chain, yes, but what an odd   
receptacle for so much power. Anri's attention was diverted then to the comical spectacle   
of Zylo running around howling, a stray spark form the bonfire had set his back fur   
ablaze. Anri sighed and brought to mind the words of the freeze spell she'd need to   
extinguish him. i"Never a dull moment with this crew,"/i she wryly thought, as she cast a   
cone of frost onto the wailing wolf. 


	3. Strangers in a Strange Land

Chapter 3: Strangers in a strange land.   
The strangers had done nothing but sip their ale and whisper to each all night. Not   
even Adam's aural receivers could decipher what the two were discussing. Only Max and   
Adam were watching the two; the rest of the tavern's populace were too busy practicing   
to become masters of drunken buffoonry. One of the drunken townsfolk, who had been   
dancing a jig, had fallen from his chair and onto an indignant farmer's wife. The angry   
female had promptly begun to beat him even more senseless. Max heard a good-natured   
chuckle from one of the strangers, and he relaxed a little bit. Evil was not renowned for   
it's sense of humor. Max grinned and shook his head. All his time in combat had made   
him a bit paranoid. The two robed ones were probably just scholars on their way to   
Manarina, or Shade Abbey…  
That thought was quickly interrupted when four more figures in robes entered, but   
these were not the simple traveler's clothes the first two had worn. These were robes as   
black as the sky on a starless night, and adorned with skulls. Red eyes peered from within   
the dark folds of their hoods, and Max knew exactly what he faced. The rare class of   
mage powerful enough to dub themselves "Demon Masters". Max slowly reached for the   
hilt of his sword, and with a shock, he recalled that he had left it at his home.  
i"Great… I let my guard down for one lousy night…"/i Max thought, frustrated at   
the fact he was completely unprepared. Adam turned to face the evil mages with a   
clanking sound. The mages had positioned themselves in a diamond formation, with what   
appeared to be the leader in front.  
"Give us Max, and we will depart in peace. Give us Max and you can go back to   
your lives. Give us Max and your little world will go on. Disobey, and your world will be   
torn asunder like a piece of carrion among ravenous rats," the lead mage threatened in a   
cold, almost ethereal voice. Bixen, the tavern owner rose to his feet.  
"Good sirs, we have no one named Max in this town, surely you seek another   
town… Urk!" The portly tavern owner was brought off the floor by the surprisingly   
strong hand of the Demon Master.  
"Don't try to lie to us, we know he is here… Give him to us or die!" the mage   
threatened as he shook poor Bixen around. Max grimaced inward. He had given his name   
as "Aleron", and had grown a short beard and mustache to insure he wasn't found out by   
a chance passer-by that happened to know his name or face. The poor good-natured   
townsfolk here were fairly ignorant of outside events. There was no way Bixen knew   
what the Demon Master was talking about. Max was about to steel himself to go down   
swinging when one of the first travelers spoke.  
"Let the poor man down and leave at once, and you might yet see the sun rise on   
another day," the man in the cloak said quietly, but with a hint of steel behind the words.   
The other man, the one completely covered in robes, shifted to face the four evil   
intruders.  
"Who dares to issue demands to us, our Dark Lord's chosen??!!" the lead mage   
snarled as he let the fat bar-keep drop, who was wheezing for more breath. The dark   
figure strode toward the two travelers, who sat with an unnatural calm given the   
circumstances. The hooded one spoke next.  
"Discretion is the better part of valor, they say. Perhaps it would be best to   
exercise said discretion now, instead of meeting a rather violent end. This will be your   
final warning. Oh, and see, Clain? I told you he was Max," the hooded one ended his   
speech with a smug tone.  
"What?? You know where he is?? Tell us n…" the Demon Master was cut off as   
the cloaked one, who had been called 'Clain', threw aside his cloak and attacked. He   
slashed upward at the mage with a large sword that had up until now been hidden within   
the deep recesses of his cloak. Now that the cloak was gone, Max saw he had indeed been   
correct. The man wore heavy white plate mail as well as a white rune encrusted cape. The   
three remaining mages started to cast spells, and Max quickly tapped Adam three times   
on the shoulder-plate.   
"Affirmative," the tall robot intoned. "Initiating attack pattern 'Omega'," the war   
machine said as he barreled at the trio of mages, metal fists swinging. The hooded one   
also let his robe fall, revealing a slim man in a black outfit which reminded Max of the   
ninja Hanzou's nightsuit. The man drew a device that looked like a crossbow with the   
cross part taken off and replaced with a tube of metal, with another small tube on top. The   
man aimed it at one of the mages and with a loud crack, the mage fell, mid-spell, a round   
wound through his torso. Adam had just finished off his mage when the last remaining   
mage finished his spell and blasted the room with an icy blizzard. Max shivered, but his   
experience allowed him to resist the spell's effects somewhat. The two strangers   
grimaced, but did not fall. Some of the tavern's bystanders were not so lucky. Those   
innocents caught in the spell died encased in a thin shell of ice, faces locked in a   
permanent expression of frozen terror. Max looked at the bodies of the former townsfolk,   
and was reminded of all the death that Darksol and his foul armies had wrought during   
the Shining Wars, and now it was happening again. Inside of him, something snapped.   
Max snarled and leapt at the last mage, now trying to make a get-away. Reacting quicker   
than the mage, Adam, and the two strangers, he tackled the mage and locked his hands   
around his throat.  
"You… are…. NOT… doing… this… AGAIN!!!!" he shouted as he strangled the   
cause of yet more death in Max's life. The mage struggled for a minute, then went limp   
under Max's rage-filled assault. Max, still shaking with anger, stood up slowly and   
surveyed the now empty tavern. Everyone but the dead, Adam, and the two strangers, had   
fled. The stranger who had been addressed as Clain stepped forward.  
"I am Clain Hayes, and this is my associate, Jace Wreven," he said, striding   
towards the battle weary figure of Max. "And you, my friend Max, are in serious trouble."  
  
Anri was snuggled up nice and cozy in her bedroll inside her tent. The dying fire   
was still letting out an occasional crackle, and the few people who still gathered around it   
let the sounds of gentle murmuring provide a comforting background noise. Her eyelids   
already drooping, the Queen of Guardiana was asleep in no time at all.  
  
iAnri was running from something behind her, something that kept following her   
no matter where she went. She was running through the forest, dark and misty, with trees   
outstretching bare branches in an effort to trip her. She stumbled over a tree root, and   
hastily got up, the thing behind her gaining ground with each pause… A dark,   
impenetrable mist surrounded her, she felt a cold hand, no, hands, grasp her legs and   
pull her to the ground. She saw the two eyes of blackness in the mist, and knew pure   
terror. Meaningless words crawled through her head… A crunching branch alerted her   
to her pursuer… It was right behind her… She turned and saw the face of the thing that   
had chased her. It was…/i  
  
"Anri? wake up, you're having a nightmare…" said a melodic feminine voice.   
Anri opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming in through the tent flaps, and Tao standing   
over her, a concerned look on her face.  
"Tao? What are you doing…" Anri started but Tao interrupted her.  
"Well, Diane was cooking up some eggs for breakfast, and I came in to wake you,   
but you were shaking hard and whimpering, and tears were running down your face… I   
assumed you were having an awful nightmare, and so I woke you," Tao explained. "What   
were you dreaming about?"  
"I…" Anri stopped, the horror she had felt in the dream, the primeval terror, still   
with her. "I don't want to talk about it." Tao nodded slowly and stepped back outside,   
closing the tent flaps behind her. Anri sat in her tent for a long time after Tao had left,   
shivering. The group broke camp and set out again a little while after.  
  
"It's all really quite simple, you see," Clain told Max as they left the village. "You   
pose the greatest threat to the only other free devil-king on Rune, Lucifer."  
"That really doesn't explain much," Max said as he and Adam kept pace with the   
two strange warriors. He and the two warriors who had insisted on accompanying him   
were leaving the village in the hopes of making sure more assassins didn't show and kill   
more townsfolk.  
"It does when you know what we know," the other one, Jace, said. "You are not   
only a great swordsman, Max. You are one of the greatest leaders this world has ever   
known. As if that weren't enough your body has spent so much time near powerful relics   
of Light, such as the Chaos Breaker and the Orb of Light, that your very nature has been   
infused with holy energy. You killed both Darksol and Dark Dragon. It's only natural that   
Lucifer realize you are one of the greatest threats to his rise."  
"But I threw down my sword! I retired! I'm… well I was a farmhand before you   
guys came along and shook things up…" Max said as Jace shook his head.  
"Shook things up? Well excuse us for saving your life," Jace said disapprovingly   
as he looking at Max.  
"I was doing just fine…" Max started but Jace cut him off.  
"Yeah, sure, you didn't even have a weapon! If it weren't for us those mages   
would've cast spells of ice at you before you would have a chance to react…" Jace said as   
he walked.  
"How do you know they would've known it was me?" Max asked indignantly.  
"Because you would not have allowed then to kill that barkeep. You would've   
revealed yourself or struck out before letting an innocent die. You're not the sort to let   
people die in your place, Max, else the entire Force would've died trying to get you free   
of the Chaos Breaker…" Clain said as he looked off into the distance, as if peering into   
the past.  
"Yeah…" Max said as he realized Clain was right. There was no way he'd ever   
allow someone to die because of his inaction. Not ever again… Max blinked hard and   
warded off the bad memories of all the people that had died during the conflict. The   
unlikely group had reached the edge of the Dragon's Rest forest, the wood that   
surrounded the town of Alino, and shielded it from the outside world. The forest was the   
main reason Alino had remained insular and untouched by the war, and it stretched from   
the tip of the continent down to the quarries of Bustoke. No paths led through it, as the   
forest seemed to resent such intrusion. All efforts to pave roads had failed, the dirt and   
gravel being mysteriously replaced the next day with grass and trees.  
"Well, I thank you for your assistance, but I am quite capable of handling myself.   
If this Lucifer is truly a threat as such you say, I must go find and stop him before he can   
do anything. Come, Adam," Max said as he began to up his pace in an effort to leave the   
group. A surprisingly strong hand clamped down on his shoulder and stopped him.  
"We too have business to settle with Lucifer. We know what he's planning, and   
where he is. We know where his spies are, we know where his bases lie. If you are serious   
about halting this threat and not just going off to vainly die, you'll come with us," Clain   
said with a tone reminiscent of pure steel as he held Max back from walking. Max looked   
at the towering figure of the solemn armored man, an expression of frustration on his   
face.  
"I hate to admit it, but you make sense with that statement. Fine, but where are we   
headed, then?" Max said ruefully.  
"We journey to Manarina, first," Clain said as he began walking again.  
"To Manarina? Why? What's there?" Max questioned as he fell into pace along   
side Clain.  
"A certain ruin … We have sources that tell us something is afoot there that reeks   
of trouble," Jace said as he fiddled with his weapon, something he had referred to as a   
"sniper rifle". "Speed is of the utmost importance, here. If the site has been disturbed…   
Well, let's just hope it hasn't." Clain turned to Jace.  
"We both know it has been, Jace, otherwise we wouldn't be here. My question is   
what happened to the guardians of the tomb, and who managed to get by them…" Clain   
looked down for a moment, deep in thought.  
"What's in this tomb that's got you worried so?" Max inquired, with a small   
amount of concern.  
"A great good… and a great evil… but which has been set loose?" Clain said   
more to himself than Max.   
"Does this place have a name, or are we going to just call it, 'the ruins' all the   
time?" Max asked as he stopped to lace up a boot. The others halted, and Clain spoke   
with a reverent tone.  
"It's true name has long been lost even to us. In the tongue of the Ancients, it's   
name is Thanas."  
"Powerful secret…" Adam translated in his monotone voice.   
  
The group journeyed on, towards Manarina and the mysterious ruins.  
  
  
"Anri!! So glad to see you… What's wrong?" Lowe had bounded off the throne to   
welcome Anri back home, but stopped when he saw her. Anri had bags under her eyes, a   
pained expression on her face and a generally disheveled appearance. She was also   
nervously fingering a rune encrusted pouch.  
"I… I haven't been sleeping well…" Anri started.  
"She's been having bad nightmares for the last few days while we traveled   
here…" Tao said quietly.  
"I just need some rest is all… No need to worry, I'm fine…" Anri said as she   
walked towards the door that led to her chambers and the heavenly apparatus known as   
her bed. So weak from exhaustion was she that the pouch containing the chain link   
dropped from her hand as she collapsed into bed. She soon fell into a deep slumber, free   
of dreams.  
  
"So you're the great Max, sealer of Dark Dragon and foremost of the saviors of   
Rune," Jace said as he sat down on a log with a bowl of stew. The group had stopped to   
make camp for the night, and were using some felled logs for firewood and furniture.   
Three tents had been set up for the humans, and a tarp was provided for Adam's power   
down- recharge cycle. A roaring fire with a pot of rabbit stew hanging over it gave the   
campsite a cheery feel despite the foreboding events that had brought the two strangers   
here in the first place.  
"Yeah, but you already knew that," Max replied as he took a swig of his canteen.   
Jace chuckled.  
"Yes, but that was a rhetorical question designed to stimulate a conversation. You   
don't socialize much, do you Max?" Jace said as he began to eat his stew. Max shrugged.  
"Fair enough, I am a bit laconic. But I strongly suspect you already know anything   
of import I could tell you," Max said as he watched Jace grimace in pain as he burned his   
tongue on the hot stew. Jace wiped his mouth and looked at Max with a grin.  
"You'd be more than right about that. We've been watching you for a while, Max.   
We know a great deal about you. Nonetheless, knowing about someone and knowing   
someone are two different things. I'm curious as to whether my observations about you   
are correct," Jace said as he set his stew down to cool.  
"Well, then you have me at a disadvantage. I don't really know anything about   
you two aside from you names and the fact that you've been guarding me from Lucifer   
unseen for quite a while! I don't even know how you know about this, 'Lucifer"! Max   
said as his voice raised a little. Clain smiled faintly.  
"I'm afraid that any answer we could give would only raise questions enough to   
delay our journey. For now, know this. We have been sent here by an… alliance of many   
different peoples, to make certain that Lucifer's plans do not come to fruition," Clain said   
looking at Max with a piercing gaze.  
"To be truthful, we know less about what Lucifer is doing than we first let on,"   
Jace said as he scratched his head. "We know that his ultimate goal is rulership of Rune,   
as usual, and we know a little of the strategies he employs, but other than that, zippo!"   
Max sighed.  
"Well, if we're to fight together, I'd like to know a little more about my comrades   
in arms. Jace, what's your story?" Max asked as he turned to the black haired sniper, who   
was currently gobbling his now cooled stew.  
"Mmm? Mmf, mmmph!" Jace mumbled through a mouthful of food as he hastily   
chewed and swallowed. "Ahh, that tastes good… What do you want, now?"  
"What's your story? You seem to know everything about me, I'd like to know a   
little about each of you at least," Max said as he got up and ladled some stew into his   
bowl.   
"Jace? Oh, he's a technologist. He and his kind put their trust in steel and silicon   
instead of sword and sorcery," Clain said as he looked at Jace. Jace nodded and began to   
speak.  
"My story? Well, well, the famous Max wants to hear my little old tale… All   
right, I'll spill. I grew up in a nice home, had a good childhood. Ah, my homeland! Truly   
a place of wonders! Technology such as this world has never seen brought miracles more   
magical than true magic to it's green surface. Life was prosperous and good for me and   
my family. I enrolled in the finest schools and I excelled at computer programming…"   
Jace noted the questioning look on Max's face. "Programming gives robots their, uh,   
'soul', among other things… Anyway, even thought I was doing well in school, I found   
that my true passion was with the military, so I joined up with the defense forces. I   
excelled there as well, being sent to sniper school and elite training courses. I was pretty   
sure someone was grooming for something, but I didn't know what. Then one day, one of   
the higher ups called me into his office and offered to induct me into a kind of secret   
society that dedicated itself to defending the innocent and righting wrongs… That may be   
common here, but in my world, such things were largely part of old myth and legend. I   
ended up joining, though, what else was I gonna do? I consider myself a crusader on   
some level, and this group seemed to fit in with my ideals perfectly…" Jace chuckled a   
bit. "The dramatic pay increase didn't hurt either. Anyway, I joined up, and the rest is   
history. I go on long extended missions far, far away from my home, and in return I get to   
know I've made a difference to someone, somewhere. I've had to make a few sacrifices,   
but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat," Jace finished his tale with a wistful look   
on his face, as if seeing past the innumerable miles and beholding his home again.  
"Sounds rough to be away from home for so long, how long has it been since you   
left?" Max inquired sympathetically. Jace looked down at the ground, wistfully.  
"It's been two years since I last trod upon familiar soil," he said quietly.  
"So where is this grand homeland of yours? What is it called?" Max asked, trying   
to lighten the mood.   
Jace smiled a bit and said, "It's too far away for me to measure… A lovely green   
and blue place called 'Earth."  
Max broke the short silence by asking, "Your hometown is named 'Dirt?"  
Jace broke out laughing, and even the normally grim Clain managed a rare smile.  
"That's an interesting way to look at it," Jace said as he resumed eating.  
"One thing, I'm curious about though, you kept mentioning 'worlds' in your   
history, kept referring to your home as your world… What do you mean?" Max asked   
hesitantly. Jace's expression changed to that of one who knows a great secret and delights   
in the fact that he knows it.  
"I suppose we can trust you with this, our greatest of secrets. We are not native to   
this world. You know what a dimension is, right?" Jace asked Max with a shrewd look in   
his eye. Max nodded.  
"We sealed Dark Dragon away in an alternate dimension, yes. Dimensions, as it   
was explained to me, are separate universes… Are you saying you two came from an   
entirely different universe???" Max exclaimed as realization dawned on him.  
"Exactly. We are from different universes, planes, dimensions, call it what you   
will," Jace said, seemingly enjoyed the astonished reaction the words got from Max.  
"Wait, how do I know you two aren't crazy or something? How do I know that   
you guys are telling the truth?" Max asked, a bit of suspicion lodged in the words.   
"We are who we are, Max. And I think you are perceptive enough to realize we   
are not lying. What reason would we have to? If you want proof, there's Jace. He knows   
things only the Ancients of your world really fully understood. He wields a technological   
weapon rarely seen in this world. If you want something more concrete, we'd be willing   
to undergo a lie detector spell if you could find a mage capable of casting it," Clain said   
as he stared off into the forest.  
"But how… and why…" Max asked, almost rhetorically.  
"We told you, we've been watching this place for a while. Things of great   
consequence are stored here, not to mention that this place is a nexus of magical energy.   
This place needs guarding from threats more ancient and evil than the demons imprisoned   
here. We are the guards As for the how, our group has mastered inter-dimensional travel   
with both magical and technological methods," Jace said with a hint of pride.  
"Two men guard an entire world?" Max asked with disbelief.  
"No, no… We have a base set up with more people. I'm just here on rotational   
assignment, and Clain's just been permanently assigned a little while ago," Jace answered   
quickly.  
"If you have this obligation to guard this world, why didn't you help in the   
Shining Wars?" Max asked as he finished his stew and drank a little more form his   
canteen.  
"We did!" Jace said indignantly. "You ever wonder why Runefaust, noted for it's   
preference for foul play never sent one assassin or saboteur into your rather blatantly   
displayed HQ? Well me and some of my pals shot each and every one of them before they   
even got close enough to see you! You wonder why the enemy troops' tactics were rife   
with bad strategies and poor command decisions? That was the work of our Manipulator   
Mages, who muddled the enemy commanders' heads with delusions of grandeur, or   
visions of fear. You may have done most of the work, you may have taken the most risks,   
but don't you tell me we didn't help! We just helped in secret was all."  
"So then… Tell me more of this group that sees fit to help in secret and guard this   
place," Max said as he cleaned his bowl with a rag and put it back in his backpack.  
"Well, I guess we can trust you. You are the leader of the Shining Force after all,"   
Jace said as he leaned back against a tree. "Our group is called the 'Guardians Defense   
Organization', or just 'Guardians', or sometimes 'G.D.O.' We are charged with the task   
of ensuring that evil never takes hold in any world. We're a multi-dimensional fighting   
force that takes it's members from all over creation, and we defend the innocent from any   
evil scourge that threatens them. We travel all across the worlds, setting up bases,   
sometimes in secret, sometimes not, to aid the natives in case of dire emergency."  
"You could think of us as a type of 'Shining Force' on a much grander scale,"   
Clain interjected.  
"Why all the secrecy?" Max asked as he took out his sword and absentmindedly   
began to sharpen it with a whetstone.  
"It is sometimes necessary. Some places we would not be openly welcome, some   
places our presence would draw deadlier foes than we could handle to the world in   
question, and sometimes our presence being known would result in drastic steps being   
taken by the forces we have come to stop," Clain said solemnly as he rubbed his chin and   
stared into the flickering fire.  
"All right, why then do you deem it necessary to step in against Lucifer with direct   
aid instead of your usual covert actions?" Max asked as he finished sharpening his sword   
and sheathed it. Clain flinched a little.  
"Lucifer is… different. He's crafty and subtle, far more so than Darksol was. He   
operates in secret and is a master of covert strategies. We originally were going to leave it   
to you and your force, but then you retired instead of going back home. So we took upon   
ourselves to insure that Rune's greatest military leader would be ready and back with his   
troops when the dark days came."  
"That can't be the whole story," Max stated in disbelief. Clain grimaced and said,  
"No, you are correct. We started out by sending a few covert operatives to   
infiltrate Lucifer's forces and find out what exactly he was up to. None of them made it   
back, and a message intercepted by us indicated Lucifer had successfully… interrogated   
one of the agents and had learned of our presence here. Among other things, we fear our   
agent may have told him about the Thanas ruins, which is the main reason we were sent   
out. We have to find what happened there. Those ruins contain two items, both of terrible   
power, enough to defeat all who opposed the wielder. All we know right now is that   
someone breached it's defenses."  
"Why only the two of you if it's so important? Why not scramble your whole   
garrison?" Max inquired off hand as he got up and stretched.  
"We MUST keep this quiet! The ruins are a secret! If certain factions learn this is   
where the Bla… where those items were kept, then this world is doomed. So many armies   
will descend here to claim them that annihilation is guaranteed," Jace said with urgency   
in both his tone and face.  
"That's all for tonight. Let's get some rest, and tomorrow we will tell you more of   
the events that led to us coming here," Clain said as he rose and headed for his tent. 


	4. The Young Queen

Chapter 4: The Young Queen.  
Diane was in a quaint little establishment called "Ale Alley," a good-sized tavern   
that survived the devastation of Guardiana in the Shining Wars. This was mostly thanks   
to its now part-owner, Gort the Gladiator. Upon returning from Runefaust, Gort had   
returned to the tavern he had defended when Runefaust invaded, with the idea of   
investing in the tavern and becoming part owner. He had wanted to have something to   
leave behind to his grand-children. (Who were now in the process of having children and   
families of their own, Gort was now 155, a good age for dwarves, who usually live to be   
around 200. His grandchildren had just entered early adulthood, the period just after the   
teens, but before the experience and wisdom of age had a chance to set in.) The owner   
was still very grateful to Gort, and let him become his business partner. Of course, the   
fact that Gort now had a large amount of gold coins, his booty from the wars, didn't hurt   
either. Right now, Diane, Lowe, Gort, Luke and Tao where enjoying a drink and a meal   
as they caught up with each other. Diane had planned this to be a friendly get together of   
old comrades in arms, but several people didn't or couldn't make it. Zylo was off hunting   
his dinner, he preferred "fresh" food to any dish cooked in a tavern, Gong had mysterious   
vanished, leaving only a note saying he was looking for answers, Light only knew where   
Ken was, and Mae was overseeing the addition of new recruits into the army It wasn't the   
grand reunion Diane had first envisioned, but she'd make do.   
"Anyway, that's what happened when Arthur first tried casting the Blaze spell I   
tried to teach him. Took both Anri AND Domingo a full hour to put out the ensuing   
conflagration. You'd think anyone smart enough to cast spells would have the common   
sense not to try a fire spell in a wooden house with a straw thatched roof…" Tao said as   
she took a sip of her drink, an elven wine which she was particularly fond of.  
"Heh. Where is that pompous old draft horse anyway, I couldn't find him   
anywhere," Diane asked as she tried a bite of the appetizer she had ordered, a plate of   
spiced mushrooms the tavern was rather famous for.  
"He left with Pelle and a few troops on a routine patrol of the Ancient Gate   
yesterday. He should be back late tonight or early tomorrow," Lowe said as he subtly   
swiped a mushroom from Diane's plate and popped into his mouth, the succulent tasty   
morsel putting a blissful smile on his face.  
"Speaking of which how did your little tour of duty as regent go? Any crises   
averted and or caused by our harried halfling healer? Mm?" Tao asked a mischievous grin   
on her face.  
"Actually now that you mention it, I had to deal with one of the Merchant Lords   
the other day. The fat mess of flesh kept insisting that his miners should be allowed to   
mine the mountains around Manarina even though everyone knows that the land   
surrounding the Mage School is Manarina property. He kept insisting that since   
Manarina's ownership of that land wasn't officially annotated in their town charter, he   
should be allowed mining rights. He kept using all this legal jabber that I kept having to   
get Nova to translate. I feel sorry for Anri, dealing with that day in and day out," Lowe   
said as he absentmindedly sipped his beer.  
"How is Anri doing, anyway? I don't remember her being this withdrawn since   
Max's… since the last time I saw her. What's wrong?" Diane asked as she slapped   
Lowe's hand away from her plate of mushrooms. Tao frowned.  
"I honestly don't know. She's usually much more upbeat than this. Except when   
she drags herself out for various queenly duties, she's been spending all her time locked   
in the library studying and researching those ruins. It's like she's forgotten about   
everything else…" Tao said, an uncommon look of concern on her face.  
"She's probably just concerned about her kingdom. Finding the mysterious ruins   
of an ancient civilization that predates the Ancients themselves doesn't happen too often,   
you know, and she probably thinks it's another portent of things to come," Luke said as   
he lifted his mug to down half his ale in one huge gulp. He burped and wiped his mouth   
with the back of his hand in a satisfied manner.  
"She might even be right," Gort said in a thoughtful manner. "Strange things have   
been happening lately. My grandson moved to Bustoke a while back to set up a smithy   
near where they mined iron ore from the mountain, and he's been telling me things. He   
says that strange lights have been seen in the Dragon's Rest forest, strange men have been   
coming through town, and he hears that raiders have been sighted gathering together way   
out in the Manarinan Desert," Gort said as he picked at his roast boar.  
"Well we didn't see anything when we were travelling through the desert," Diane   
said as she ate the last mushroom and pushed the empty plate away. "Maybe it's just wild   
rumors." Gort turned to Diane with a steel look in his eyes.  
"I sincerely hope so. My grandson also sent word that his wife gave birth to a   
lovely baby girl the other day. I'd rather not have to go to war again when I finally get to   
see my great-grandchildren come into the world," Gort said, his face changing to that of a   
reflective look that seemed to make all too apparent his age. Diane tried to lighten the   
mood.  
"So how is your family, anyway, Gort?" she said lightly.  
"Well, why don't you ask Luke?" Gort said as he drained his mug of ale.  
"Wh… What's that supposed to mean?" Luke asked Gort, nervousness piercing   
through his normally boisterous voice.  
"I am old, Luke, not deaf or blind, nor am I stupid or slow-witted. You think I   
haven't been aware of your moonlight attempts to woo my granddaughter? You think I   
haven't noticed the various attempts at love poetry you leave scattered around for her?   
You think I haven't noticed the way I've seen you look at her? I can put two and two   
together, you know," Gort said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair. Luke was   
sweating with nervousness. Lowe was chuckling. Tao and Diane both turned to Luke, but   
before they could begin the barrage of teasing they had in mind, Luke spoke as he got up   
from the table.  
"I…ah… I think I had better go help Mae with the new recruits… Bye!" saying   
that, he almost ran right out of the room.  
"Heh… Young love…" Gort chuckled as he watched Luke retreat from the tavern.  
"Well tonight was nice, but basically a bust. I was expecting more of our old   
friends to show…" Diane said, a bit depressed as she tapped her fork on the table, with   
boredom.  
"Well, I hear some of the old gang is coming here to celebrate the anniversary of   
our victory over Dark Dragon soon…" Tao started but was interrupted as Diane bolted   
upright.  
"Ah! I completely forgot that was coming up! It's been what, six years? I can't   
believe I forgot that…" Diane said with disbelief as she slapped herself in the forehead.   
Tao looked at her confused.  
"Didn't you get your invitation?" Tao said, puzzled.  
"Invitation?" Diane inquired.  
"Yes, Anri sent them all out a month ago. Invitations to the party she was holding   
in honor of our victory… and Max's sacrifice," Tao finished hesitantly.  
"Yeah… I never really thought Max would ever turn into a casualty. He just   
seemed… well, he seemed too determined to die!" Diane said, suddenly solemn. "Well,   
that's the past now. Anyway, no I never got mine, and neither did Zylo."  
"That's odd… There must be a problem with the messenger system… Anyway,   
most if not all of the gang is coming back within the month, I hear," Tao said.  
"But that's a while away! I was hoping to catch up a bit with everyone soon…"   
Diane said.  
"Well, we could try for a night when everyone here is free…" Tao suggested.  
"Speaking of which, I hear Hans is coming back from his scouting trip into the   
Border Forest tonight. Maybe you could catch up with him…" Gort mildly suggested as   
he took a slow sip of his drink. Diane turned with a surprised look in her eyes.  
"Hans is coming back tonight?" Diane paused again, deep in thought. "Yes… I'll   
definitely need to see what he's been up to… It's been too long… Thanks Gort," Diane   
said as she slapped down a few coins as payment and hurried out the door. Tao arched an   
eyebrow at Gort, who chuckled and said,  
"I already told you I'm not deaf or blind, Tao. I notice things. I was in love too,   
once. How did you think I had children?" Gort smiled as Tao sheepishly shrugged.  
  
Anri pored over her books looking for any reference to the piece of black chain   
that had been at the forefront of her mind the last couple of days. Nothing. Not a single   
thing about the ruins or the mysterious artifact could be found among even the castle's   
myriad tomes of forgotten lore. It was late… Too late… Anri wanted deeply to put aside   
her books and just go back to her chambers and sleep. Her head nodded down, long hair   
cascading in front of her face, and she shook her head to wake herself up. She may want   
to go to sleep, yes, but she wanted to solve this annoying riddle first. She needed to know   
what this thing was, needed to know what it could do… She needed…  
Anri's thought were interrupted by her head hitting the book she was reading. She   
was asleep in seconds, dreaming shortly there after.  
  
iAnri was once again running from the nameless fear. Once again it chased her   
throughout the misty gray dead forest. Once again she tripped on something and just as   
she turned to look on the horror of her nightmares, she once again awoke with a start./i  
  
Anri jolted awake, bolting upright in the chair she had fallen asleep in. i"The same   
dream again…"/i she though to herself. Well, she was awake now, and she had work to do.  
With a resolute look, she reached for another ancient book and opened it.  
  
It was midnight and the clouds were pouring a soft peaceful rain upon the city of   
Guardiana. Diane stood outside Hans' house pacing back and forth, oblivious to the water   
soaking her clothes and body.  
i"What am I even doing out here?"/i Diane thought to herself as she hesitantly   
knocked the door, half hoping nobody was home. i"It's been six years since the Force   
broke up, and four years since we even kept in touch. I bet he's forgotten all about me…   
He's probably found someone by now… Maybe I should just go…"/i  
Diane turned to leave just as the door opened as Hans peeked his head out. He   
blinked in disbelief as Diane turned to go, and asked quietly, "Diane? Is that you?"  
Diane stopped, and quickly turned back to Hans with tears in her eyes, and ran to   
him. As they locked into an embrace, Hans' expression went from surprise to joy to   
blissful contentment in the span of a few seconds. The door closed and the rain continued   
to pour gently down outside.  
  
The next day, Anri woke from a black dreamless sleep to an insistent knocking at   
her chamber door.  
"Majesty? Majesty!! It's time for the petitions!! Wake up!!!"  
Anri bolted upright form the desk she'd fallen asleep on. How long had she been   
sleeping? The pounding on the door became more frantic.  
"I'm coming! Just let me get ready!" Anri shouted to whichever of her numerous   
royal assistants was at her door as she started to hastily put on a ceremonial robe and run   
a comb quickly through her long hair in a vain effort to make it look like she hadn't just   
woken up. The pounding subsided, but the urgings of the assistant to hurry did not. Anri   
growled in irritation and she bit back a few choice words she'd learned back in her days   
as a battle mage. How did nagging her help any? Did the herald's squeaky annoying   
voice have the power to turn back time and wake her up sooner?? What a bothersome   
insect! It'd be so easy just to turn him into that form, and to crush him under her heel…  
Anri smacked herself on the forehead. Where in the Seventeen Circles of   
Aggamar did those thoughts just come from? She didn't act… didn't think like that at   
all! Anri finally completed her hasty preparation and chalked up the disturbing thoughts   
to nerves.  
"Alright, I'm coming!" she announced as she opened her chamber door and   
speedily walked out, headed for the audience hall, the herald sent to fetch her just barely   
keeping up. The petitions were her favorite part after all. They'd make her feel better…  
  
Dawn broke over the travelers' camp as if a vase of sunlight had been shattered   
upon the previous blanket of cool darkness, scattering the mist that had formed to the   
winds. The dawn had a majestic quiet to it, a feeling of peaceful stillness. As the camp   
gradually awoke, the stillness was eventually replaced by the hustle and bustle of a group   
readying itself to leave in utmost haste. Tents were dismantled and repackaged.   
Backpacks were reloaded and weapons placed at their owners' sides. Breakfast was a   
simple dried powder and water gruel that Jace had brought in his survival pack. As the   
group sat around the boiling pot of gruel, they discussed their plans.  
  
"Well, we could take the Bustoke pass once we get out of this never-ending   
forest…" Jace said while tracing his proposed path along the map of Rune he had spread   
out on a nearby tree stump. Clain shook his head.  
  
"The pass will take too long, and we risk identification by Lucifer's spy network if   
we go through town. No, we'll go through the garrison base in the Manarinan Mountains.   
That will allow us to restock and get an update on current events as well as go quicker."   
Clain said, pointing to an area on the map. Amidst mountains, was marked symbol of a   
sheild with a G on it, and crossed lightning bolts behind.  
  
"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Max interjected. Clain looked up.  
  
"We have our garrison base set up in an abandoned tunnel network underground   
in the Manarinan mountains. If we can reach it, we stand to shave a few days off our trip   
as well as being able to re-supply," Jace explained.  
"Ah," Max said.  
"It's decided then. We move for the base. Let's get going, we have precious little   
time to waste." Clain said as he shrugged on his pack.  
  
  
"We have a simple request, milady. Our Lord Karatis of the Merchant's Guild has   
done nothing illegal, yet your Royal Judge Garris has ordered him to pay restitution and   
halt his operations in the village of Thornsbury. All we ask is that justice be done and that   
he has his money and merchant privileges restored."  
  
The Merchant Lord's representative was a little fat man, beady eyed and cruel   
looking, and he droned on and on about the various rights that Judge Garris had violated   
in his orders to investigate the claims of Karatis' unethical works. Anri finally shrugged   
and raised her hand, gesturing the man to stop speaking.  
  
"I read Garris' report and the reports filed by the village. The Merchant Lord   
cannot weasel his way out of this one. The village was on the brink of starvation thanks to   
Karatis' underhanded tactics and financial strategies. I myself saw the villages' children   
in rags. I could count their ribs they were so hungry. Being a Merchant Lord does not   
make him sovereign over villages and towns bearing one of his trading posts." Anri said   
tiredly. "Furthermore, I know Garris to be an honorable and just man, and have full faith   
in his judgment.  
"But your own laws clearly state on matters of trading that…" the man said, a   
gleam coming into his eye.  
i"Look at them. So petty. Over a fraction of his total wealth, so willing to push   
others into the dirt to acquire more and more. They deserve to be crushed. To feel what   
it's like to be ground into the dirt."/i  
Anri shook her head, clearing away the intruding thoughts. She hadn't thought that…   
Where did it come from? She was so tired… The representative was interrupted once   
more by Anri.  
"I care NOT for the letter of the law, but for the spirit! My word on this is final."   
Anri finished by slamming a hand down on her throne's arm. The little man in robes   
fumed.  
"The Merchant Lords will not hear of this! If you think…" the little man was once   
more cut off as Anri shot to her feet, a furious look in her normally icy calm eyes.  
"If YOU think you can come into MY throne room and dictate to me what I will   
and will not do on matters that concern MY kingdom, you're ever stupider than you are   
fat! Guards! Escort this man out of my castle!" Anri shouted and sat back on her throne.  
i"So there is a core of fire to this facade of ice you've set up for yourself, eh? Yes,   
I see it all… Your inner fires burn fiercely in secret. Your father's death…Fury! Your   
kingdom's devastation and long-term suffering…Anger! The loss of the one man you   
actually began to care for…even love? RAGE!"/i  
Anri shook her head again as the guards led the indignant merchant away, a slight   
scared expression manifested itself on her face.  
"I don't care what you are, voice. Leave my thoughts to me and leave." Anri   
whispered under her breath. An advisor approached her.  
"Sire, are you certain that was a good idea? The Merchant Lords' influence   
stretches deep…" the advisor's voice trembled with nervousness.  
"I am Queen. Not Karatis. He will NOT use his overflowing purse to oppress my   
people!" Anri said with barely contained anger.  
i"There it is again, Anri. The anger, the outrage at injustice…the fire. It's all   
there…"/i  
i"Stop it."/i Anri thought.  
i"Poor young queen. Stop it already? It has only now begun!"/i  
i"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"/i Anri thought, a veritable mental scream. For a   
moment there was silence, and Anri sighed with relief.  
i"Fire and ice, fire and ice…"/i the voice taunted.  
i"OUT!!!"/i Anri almost shouted the last bit aloud.  
i"Young mage. Truly you cannot comprehend what is happening. ME get out of   
YOUR head?"/i the featureless voice laughed malevolently.  
i"WHO ARE YOU???"/i Anri thought desperately.   
i"Who am I? You mean you really don't know?"/i the voice chuckled again. The   
shrill voice of the herald broke through the mental conversation.  
"The next petitioner, Mayor Cal'gor Quid, from the city of Haljara," the herald   
proclaimed as a stately man in robes approached the throne. The man bowed deeply and   
spread his arms wide in a gesture of friendship as he stood back up.  
"Greetings magnificent Queen, from the great city of Haljara. We bring a message   
of thanks for your assistance in routing the vicious raider attacks that have long plagued   
our prosperous citizens. In gratitude for your quick dispersal of justice, the citizens…" the   
man's speech trailed off into the background as the whispering voice in Anri's mind   
spoke up once more.  
i"Justice? Hah! There is no such thing in the world."/i  
i"That's not true."/i Anri mentally refuted. i"There is much justice in this world."/i  
i"Really? How do you figure?"/i the voice whispered, amused.  
i"Well we helped disband the raiders in Haljara for one…"/i Anri stated quickly.  
i"You are so naïve. The 'raiders' that you so quickly dispatched at the city's   
request was in reality a group of townsfolk who had taken up arms in an attempt to   
reclaim the property stolen from them by the corrupt city officials who were taxing them   
to death under your very nose. You gave the order to kill innocent people who just   
wanted their lives back…"/i  
i"That can't be true! One of my Royal Judges would've reported the situation to   
me, or someone would've come forward…"/iAnri thought as the man in front of her throne   
continued to say how grateful the city was to her.  
i"You mean the Royal Judges that even now are in the pocket of the Merchant   
Lords? You mean why didn't anyone come to your vaunted 'petitions' to plead for help?   
Tell me, Anri, who screens these audiences for you?"/i  
i"The Royal Judges…"/iAnri said hesistantly. i"But they're most good men! I know   
them! Judge Garris alone…"/i  
i"The Royal Judges wear masks, as most people do. And as most people do, they   
look out for themselves alone. As for Garris, he's dead now. Slain by an assassin, the   
reward for his many years of uncorrupted loyalty to his kingdom."/i Anri shut her eyes   
tightly together and shook her head.  
i"You're lying…"/ishe whispered.  
i"You doubt my words, little mage? See for yourself."/i  
  
Anri's mind was suddenly flooded with a vivid scene of soldiers bearing the   
Guardiana seal slaughtering a group of fleeing peasants, cutting them down even as they   
kneeled to surrender. She heard the pleas for mercy and the shrieks of the dying. She   
heard the peasants curse her and her kingdom. Blood permeated the soil and screams, the   
air. The scene changed abruptly. She was now in the study of Royal Judge Garris. The   
kindly-looking old man was seated at his desk, tugging at his white beard with one hand   
and flipping through a report with the other. Anri heard a door creak open and saw Garris   
look up from his papers. A shadow darkened behind him and Anri saw a black-clad figure   
hurl a dagger at the elder judge before sprinting away from the open doorway. The dagger   
lodged in the old man's chest, and Garris looked down at it in disbelief as he fell to the   
ground.  
"My…God…"Anri said, in shock and horror. Though she struggled to deny it,   
something in her knew that this was what happened. Tears leaked from the corners of her   
disbelieving eyes.  
i"Far from it, my dear."/i The voice said in mock sweetness. i"All this happened   
and nobody cares. Nobody cares about anything. There is no justice."/i  
i"But there HAS to be justice! If not here, then other kingdoms…"/i Anri struggled   
to bring counter-arguments to mind, tried to bring her considerable diplomatic abilities   
into play, but her thoughts were muddled by a black fog that seemed to cloud her mind.  
i"Other kingdoms? You mean your supposedly staunch allies? Like Runefaust   
which tried to crush you and then fell to groveling when it failed, claiming they were 'just   
following orders?' Or how about that new country you've allied yourself with, hm? The   
one you thought was SUCH an example of holy Light in the world, I believe it's name is   
Aris-Tir, correct?"/i the voice sarcastically said.  
An image of downtrodden men, women and children chained together, being   
whipped by overseers as they trudged along a dusty path towards a quarry formed itself in   
Anri's mind.  
i"I bet you didn't know they practice slavery as a form of punishment if you stand   
against the realm's rather strict rules. I bet you didn't know the evils being committed   
each day across the globe. I'm certain you had no knowledge of what goes on behind   
your back as the intrigues of the Royal Court ensnare more and more victims and you sit   
in your little throne room, insulated and pampered from reality. You thought you won   
against evil when you sealed Dark Dragon away, but in reality, evil won when you put on   
your crown, oh young naïve queen. There is no justice."/i  
i"But…but…"/i  
i"THERE. IS. NO. JUSTICE."/i the voice said commandingly. Anri felt the phrase   
being pushed into her mind, felt it break through her well honed defenses of willpower,   
felt years of mental training slip away.  
i"There…is…no…justice…"/iAnri whispered slowly and in great pain. Then she   
gave out a great cry and collapsed.  
"Queen Anri!!"  
"Someone get the healer, the Queen has fainted!"  
As Anri spiraled down into blackness, she distantly heard voices around her, then   
a faint mocking laughter.  
  
"So you were going to tell me more about Lucifer?" Max said as they trudged   
along the forest path.  
"Yes. Lucifer's favorite tactic seems to be corrupting people to serve his needs   
and goals," Jace said as he wiped a hand across his brow.  
"So? So did Darksol. How's that different?" Max asked.  
"Darksol corrupted people by telling them lies. That a certain kingdom would   
invade, that someone was out to kill them, stuff like that," Jace explained.  
"What's Lucifer do then?" Max asked. Clain turned to fix him with a very serious   
stare.  
"Darksol corrupted people by telling them lies, Lucifer corrupts people by telling   
them the truth." Clain said cryptically.  
  
Anri was shivering, beads of sweat forming on her delicate forehead as she laid in   
her bed. Around her, one of the royal healers was talking to Lowe and Nova as they stood   
over her. She was conscious of none of this, having been drawn deep into formless night   
within her mind. Gradually, she become aware of another presence with her in the   
blackness of unconsciousness.  
i"There is no justice,"/i the voice said softly. Insinuating itself deeper into Anri's   
half-conscious mind.  
i"No justice,"/i Anri blankly agreed.  
i"No one cares about anyone else. The world is full of nothing but scrabbling rats,   
each scrambling to fill their bellies with all they can have and more."/i The voice was an   
iron fist in a velvet glove, soft but unyielding. Memories of her time with the Shining   
Force surfaced in the back of Anri's mind and part of her broke through the mental   
lethargy being imposed upon her.  
i"But my friends care…"/i she said mentally.  
i"You think your friends care? Hah! They saw an opportunity to gain a monarch   
as an ally and pounced on it. They used you, are using you. Like everyone else used you."/i  
i"That's…not…right…"/iAnri said, her will to resist fading. She tried to remember   
good times spent with her friends, but somehow all the smiles seemed to be mocking her,   
all the laughter and jokes seemed to be snide. All her friends' faces seemed…different.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Max asked Clain as they continued walking.  
"Darksol outright lied. Lucifer twists and bends the truth to suit his dark purposes.   
He'll take certain events and present them in a certain way to make it seem like   
something other than what it is. He'll suggest motivations and feelings that are really   
false, but seem true if you look at the facts a certain way. He takes the truth, edits it,   
colors it, and ultimately rewrites it," Clain said with a tone of disgust.  
  
i"No one cares about you…"/ithe voice said. i"You stand alone."/i  
i"No…"/i Anri whimpered. Darkness was all around her. She was slipping back   
into the dream she kept having…  
i"You can't run from the truth forever, Anri. I know your mind. There is no justice.   
Nobody cares. Only the strong survive, Anri. Only the strong deserve to survive. Only the   
strong deserve to rule,"/i the voice whispered. Anri was once again back in the bleak dead   
forest of her nightmares, the skeletal trees throwing their branches upwards as if shrieking   
in agony.  
iAnri was running from something behind her, something that kept following her   
no matter where she went. She was running through the forest, dark and misty, with trees   
outstretching bare branches in an effort to trip her. She stumbled over a tree root, and   
hastily got up, the thing behind her gaining ground with each pause…/i  
  
i"I can help you Anri. The world cares not for you, why should you care for it?   
Why protect it? Why serve it? Why not instead, serve yourself?"/i the voice said, driving   
it's will into Anri's core being.  
  
iA dark, impenetrable mist surrounded her, she felt a cold hand, no, hands, grasp   
her legs and pull her to the ground. She saw the two eyes of blackness in the mist, and   
knew pure terror. Meaningless words crawled through her head… A crunching branch   
alerted her to her pursuer… It was right behind her… She turned and saw the face of the   
thing that had chased her. It was…/i  
  
i"You know who I truly am. You've known me for so long… You've only forgotten   
about me. Join with me, and we will finally be free of all our burdens! Join with me, and   
we can make those wretches who defy us pay! Join me, and we will rule unchallenged   
over the worthless rabble!"/i the voice rose in volume until it reached a crescendo that   
shook the fabric of Anri's nightmare realm.  
  
iAnri could see the face of her pursuer. A young adult woman, with a cruel   
predatory smile on her face, long silver hair spilling down past her hood and mage's   
cape…/i  
  
Anri faced herself.  
  
The mirror-image Anri started to laugh evilly, and Anri moaned in horror and   
despair. 


End file.
